South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Monday called for accelerating the launch of free trade agreement negotiations between South Korea and MERCOSUR, the South American trade bloc comprising Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil, according to Yonhap News.
"South Korea and MERCOSUR countries have completed a joint feasibility study on a bilateral FTA, but have yet to open FTA negotiations. A successful conclusion of the Korea-MERCOSUR FTA will further upgrade bilateral cooperative relations," Lee was quoted as saying in a speech during a meeting of Korean and Brazilian business leaders in Sao Paulo.
The idea of a Korea-MERCOSUR FTA was first floated during former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun's visit to Brazil in 2004. MERCOSUR represents a total population of 190 million people living in an area larger than the total surface of the European continent.
Lee, who arrived here earlier on Monday after attending the Group of 20 summit in the U.S., also stressed the need to deepen economic and industrial cooperation between South Korea and Brazil.
"While in Brazil, I will establish a Korea-Brazil industrial cooperation committee to promote fusion cooperation and corporate investments between the two countries. Through the committee, both sides will also push to set up a bilateral industrial cooperation fund and center."
Lee highlighted mineral resources and plant construction, oil development and shipbuilding and biofuel, auto and green energy as targets for the proposed Korean-Brazilian cooperation.
"The South Korean and Brazilian economies can complement each other. Their closer cooperation would create enormous synergies," the president was quoted as saying. "The flex-fuel vehicles, which are powered by Brazilian bio-ethanol, can be among the promising areas for bilateral cooperation, together with solar and wind power generation, light-emitting-diodes, hydrogen fuel cells and liquefied gas and coal."
Meanwhile, Brazilian participants at the meeting asked Lee and South Korean companies to consider participating in the Brazilian high-speed railway project.
Meeting over dinner with Jose Serra, the governor of Sao Paulo state, President Lee again expressed his wish for closer bilateral cooperation in ethanol and other clean energy sources.
"The Brazilian technology to produce ethanol is invaluable from the perspective of worldwide efforts to prevent global warming and promote clean and new renewable energy. The combination of Brazilian resources and technologies and Korean IT and environmental technologies will be mutually beneficial," said Lee.